a quest

There are certain foods that go with certain times of year. Like…ice cream cake or watermelon in the winter gives me weird feelings. And baking gingerbread men just feels wrong in August.

But the slight bite of chilliness in the mornings and at dusk, hinting that colder weather is swiftly on its way, has got me craving sweet cinnamony, autumn baked goods full of spices and warmth. And even though I’m so sad to see summer go, I can’t wait for fall to usher in all the yummy things made of pumpkin and apple.

Now that October is upon us, it is unquestionably pumpkin season. Which makes me SO HAPPY! All I want to do is bake a million pumpkin things all day long, and I would be in perfect bliss. Except for one little problem: apparently everyone else feels the same.

Let me tell you a little story about my quest for canned pumpkin last weekend. I called not one, not two, not three, and no, not even four, grocery stores for this highly sought-after commodity. Wegman’s, Giant, Walmart–all cleaned out. I finally received the affirmative from Weis and Redner’s…who even shops there anymore? And honestly, that’s probably why they still had it in stock. All I can say is, good thing the pumpkin is canned.

At long last, I was finally in possession of four huge cans of pumpkin puree (and I am seriously considering stocking up on more this weekend). For this year’s pumpkin premiere, I present to you the most delicious and easy pumpkin muffins you will ever meet. These are also healthy, low-fat, and low calorie (if you’re into that)!

Here’s what to do:

Take a cup of some lovely orange-hued pureed pumpkin

Mix it with a box of this, plus a little pumpkin spice to up the flavor.

You need to add some water, too, but I figured you knew what that looks like :)

Bake and enjoy the sweet taste of fall!

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

15.25 oz Betty Crocker Super Moist Spice Cake Mix
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup canned 100% pure pumpkin
3/4 cup water
optional (but not really)–chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake wrappers.

Combine cake mix and pumpkin spice in a large bowl. Add pumpkin puree and water, mix about 2 minutes.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake about 20 – 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Makes about 18 muffins.